Rich Archbold: 'Farewell to Manzanar' co-author to appear at Long Beach Main Library

It was a long time ago and Jeanne Wakatsuki was only 7 years old, but a surprise attack at a place she had never heard of was about to change her life forever.

It was the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when Jeanne waved goodbye to her father who was leaving from San Pedro with his two boats to catch sardines for the canneries on nearby Terminal Island.

But the boats almost immediately turned around and came back when the fishermen got the news that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor.

Soon after, Jeanne and the rest of her family, taking only the belongings they could carry, were imprisoned in Manzanar, now a historic site 230 miles northeast of Long Beach. Anti-Japanese hysteria gripped the nation, resulting in forced dislocation, internment and property seizure of thousands of families of Japanese descent in Southern California.

The Wakatsuki family's experiences during this tragic time is described in the book, "Farewell to Manzanar," written by Jeanne and her late husband, James D. Huston, and published in 1973. It was adapted in a made-for-TV movie in 1976.

Jeanne, now 77 and living in Santa Cruz, will discuss her compelling memoir and autograph books on Saturday at the Long Beach Main Library Auditorium at 101 Pacific Ave. A reception begins at 1 p.m., with a discussion at 1:30 p.m.

This Long Beach Library California Reads event is made possible with support from Friends of the Library and Cal Humanities in partnership with the California Center for the Book. Admission is free.

When the Wakatsuki family got to Manzanar, they found cramped living conditions, badly prepared food and swirling dust blowing everywhere. Family life was extremely difficult to maintain. More than 10,000 people were in the camp.

In December 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the nation's internment policy was illegal, and the Department of War (now the Department of Defense) began preparations to close the Manzanar camp and others in the United States.

Jeanne's father bought a car and took his family to Long Beach. In her book, Jeanne compares the overpacked car to an Oklahoma family moving west during the Depression.

The Wakatsukis found a small apartment at the Cabrillo Homes housing project on Long Beach's westside. Jeanne entered Stephens Middle School and then Poly High School, where she spent the l0th and 11th grades before the family moved to San Jose. Jeanne fondly remembers her time at Poly as a drum majorette for the Jackrabbits.

"We had the best-looking uniforms, beautiful green and gold with fur on the back like little bunnies," she said.

In April 1972, Jeanne, now married, visited the Manzanar camp with her husband and their three children for the first time since she left as a little girl. Memories came flooding back to her, memories she had kept hidden for years.

"Many people, including me, had kept this experience hidden. We never referred to it. There were feelings of guilt. I didn't tell my husband about my experience until after we were married," she said.

Her husband of 52 years died three years ago.

"Farewell to Manzanar" is a coming-of-age book for a young girl who was forced to grow up more rapidly than most. Themes running through the book include the dangers of racial stereotyping and prejudice, the difficulty of discovering your own identity and family relationships.

Asked how she came up with the title, "Farewell to Manzanar," Jeanne said it meant a lot of things.

"It meant I was letting go of things I had suppressed for years," she said. "Manzanar had become almost like a dream to me, like it almost didn't happen. It was a traumatic experience I was finally able to face up to. My 1972 visit there helped me with my own self-perception and identity."

In her speeches, Jeanne said she discusses what happened to her and the state of democracy in the United States and the world. Why does she keep up the hectic pace of speeches across the state?

"We must continue to educate people, especially young people," she said. "We can't let something like this happen again. Our country is made up of immigrants. We have a Constitution holding us together in the United States. This is very rare in the world today. We must use it to be better and to have more humanity."